On the rules for using domestic heating boilers

Emergency reports received during the cold season regularly include information about burned-down or destroyed private houses, as well as victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The explosion mechanism is simple

The risk zone mainly includes boilers that operate not constantly, but episodically. Weak points where the heating system can be "caught" by ice are expansion tanks, circulation pipes, and cold rooms like attics.

The main reason why boilers explode is the freezing of the heating system. Water in the pipes stops circulating. The fuel continues to burn. Water boils inside the cast-iron sections of the boiler or pipes. At the same time, the steam pressure inside the system begins to rise very rapidly. At some point, a critical pressure point will be reached that the metal cannot withstand - and the consequences of damage to pipes and boiler sections are unpredictable. The fact is that a very large volume of steam-water mixture is simultaneously released into a confined space. The pressure inside the room rises rapidly. In the best-case scenario, it will end with blown-out windows. In the worst-case scenario, the building structures will be destroyed.

If an ice plug has formed...

The installation and commissioning of the heating system must be carried out only by specialized organizations. At the same time, their employees must conduct training for boiler users and make a note of this in the unit's passport.

Before starting the boiler, the homeowner must ensure that the shut-off devices are open on both pipelines - the supply and the return. All shut-off devices installed on the heating system must also be opened. Remove accumulated condensate from the lower section of the chimney. This will help avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Regularly check the chimney head and flue channels. Before lighting the boiler, open the system's make-up line and the expansion tank filling control line. It will become clear that the system has not frozen when water starts to flow from the control line.

But let's imagine the following situation: water did not flow from the control line. What should be done in such a case? If the pressure in the boiler is constantly rising and has reached the level of the water supply network, this indicates that the heating system has frozen. In such a situation, igniting the boiler is strictly prohibited. Do not hope that steam will break through the ice plug - along with it, the increased pressure will blow up the pipe and the boiler. You need to determine the approximate location of the freezing of the heating system, thaw it out, and check if water flows from the control line when the supply is open. And only when this happens, start igniting the boiler, while monitoring the readings of the pressure gauge. If the pressure approaches the maximum permissible, immediately stop the fuel supply and remove it from the boiler to a safe place. As this indicates that the heating system is NOT thawed.

Rarely, but it also happens that the boiler itself freezes in the attic. Like a pipe, it is strictly forbidden to thaw it with an open flame; it can be done using, for example, hot water. However, if during thawing you see that water is coming from the heating surface - this means that the boiler has lost its seal. And its only way is to the repair shop. In this condition, it is unsuitable for further operation. Specialists will re-weld a steel boiler, and for a cast-iron one, they will replace the damaged sections and repack them anew.

Keep "Kulibins" away

Eight boilers that exploded in the last five years were homemade. Folk craftsmen somehow cobbled together heating units. But it is clear that this creates a high risk of problems with heating surfaces, fireboxes, stagnant zones ... In the end, this results in the water overheating and the boiler bursting. In addition, consider that homemade units, as a rule, do not have thermometers, pressure gauges, or safety valves installed.

And therefore, we warn: do not use homemade boilers and do not entrust the installation of certified units to people who do not have special qualifications. The money you want to save on this may later result in a fire, severe destruction, or serious injuries.

So, is it worth risking your property, home, and perhaps even health or life for the sake of savings?